The War on Poverty was as doomed to failure as practically other ethereal “war” a president declares against an idea, act or condition. With that in mind, here are two interesting reads for all you interested nerds out there. The first is a Heritage Foundation monograph that marks the 50th anniversary of President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty. The right-leaning think tank predictably outlines why this war was over before it began, and how troublesome metrics have resulted in dumping billions of dollars where they weren’t necessarily needed the most.